The mystery of a missing 7-month-old boy in Yucaipa took another twist when authorities confirmed Wednesday that they removed a 2-year-old child from the home of the same couple that reported the infant missing last week.
It’s unclear what prompted officials with child protective services to remove the 2-year-old. A spokesperson for Riverside County declined to comment, citing state confidentiality laws.
Nearly a week after the disappearance of Emmanuel Haro in Yucaipa, investigators have released little new information on the case and an unconfirmed report that the boy was spotted in Bakersfield over the weekend resulted in no new leads, according to authorities.
Law enforcement officials say they cannot rule out foul play in the case.
An attorney for the boy’s father acknowledged that the father was convicted of child endangerment in 2023 involving another child but insists he was not involved in the disappearance of his own son.
Rebecca Haro said she was attacked and knocked unconscious while changing her son’s diaper outside her vehicle in front of a sporting goods story in Yucaipa on Thursday evening. When she woke up, Emmanuel was gone, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Since then, she and her husband, Jake Haro, have been repeatedly questioned by authorities. They turned over all their electronic devices and their vehicle was seized by investigators on the same day the boy was reported missing, according to authorities.
Riverside County authorities confirmed Wednesday that they removed a 2-year-old child from the Haro home after Emmanuel was reported missing, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
The removal is another twist in an already complicated case.
Rebecca Haro stopped speaking with investigators when they confronted her about inconsistencies in her initial statement, according to the sheriff’s department. Vincent Hughes, a family attorney who has previously represented Jake Haro in criminal court, said the mother was distraught during the interview and declined to take a polygraph test when sheriff’s investigators asked her. But she and her husband are cooperating with the investigation, Hughes said, and just want answers.
“They just want their son back, they want people to put in the same effort that they’re using to question them to go out and search for Emmanuel,” Hughes told The Times.
Hughes said he represented Jake Haro when he was convicted of child endangerment in Riverside County in 2023 but there have been no charges filed in connection with Emmanuel’s disappearance.
“As far as we know, nobody has been charged with a crime,” he said. “In America, you’re innocent until proven guilty. That’s hasn’t changed.”
The child endangerment case began in Oct. 2018, when Jake Haro and his then wife, Vanessa, were interviewed by Hemet police after their baby was examined at a local hospital, according to a police affidavit seeking an arrest warrant. The unidentified girl had a skull fracture, several healing fractures to her ribs, a brain hemorrhage, swelling in the neck and a healing tibia fracture in her leg.
A doctor who examined the child told police the girl had “intracranial hemorrhage, brain injury, cervical spine injury and retinal hemorrhages” and other injuries, the affidavit said. Jake Haro told police that he accidentally dropped the baby into a center divider in their kitchen sink while giving her a bath, but the doctor said the injuries did not fit that narrative.
The couple blamed each other, according to the officer’s affidavit. In 2023, Jake Haro was convicted of felony willful child endangerment and his then-wife was convicted of misdemeanor willful harm to a child, court records show.
It’s unclear who has custody of the child involved in that incident and if that child lived in the same home with Emmanuel.
Over the weekend, the family received a tip about an alleged sighting of the boy in Bakersfield. They notified the sheriff’s department, Hughes said, but have received no updates about the tip. A sheriff’s department spokesperson said investigators are aware of the reported sighting but offered no specific information about the location.
Emmanuel’s parents do not have a vehicle or their mobile phones, so they’re relying on others for information and support, Hughes said. They’re being harassed at their home by media and their home address was shared online by amateur true crime sleuths.
Emmanuel was last seen wearing a black onesie with a Nike logo. He has brown hair, brown eyes, and is cross-eyed, according to his family.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division at (909) 890-4904. Callers wishing to remain anonymous should contact WeTip at (800) 78-CRIME (27463) or go to wetip.com.
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